I am very offended about this post. I did not like your comment about "a serious mental illness" Yes, I am homeschooling my son and I have a serious mental illness but it is controlled with medication and I am under a Doctor's care. At the same time, I have an MBA in Accounting and I recently passed the two exams for the Elementary Teaching Certificate in New York. Your negative comments comes from ignorance. People that are sick should not be the subject of other peoples jokes.

When I was in high school, my father nearly died several times because of the mental illness that he was battling at the time. When I read Mary Pride's statement, I presumed that it meant that people who homeschool with no history of mental illness can find themselves under a lot of stress, and start to exhibit they symptoms of depression (I have read a number of online anecdotes to this effect); a person who is already battling a mental illness may (depending on where they are in their treatment) be risking their health and happiness by entering into a situation where they may experience serious stress.

My father had to quit his job before he could get better, because it was so stressful. Starting to homeschool for him at that point would have been dangerous - he was at a point where he needed to put his own health first.

This does not mean to say he is subintelligent, in fact, his IQ is very high, and he is a very talented and creative man. I love him and respect him greatly.

And yes, he is still on medication today, but at the same time I believe that he has recovered to the point where he could now cope with a stressor like homeschooling.

I do not believe the author meant to offend anyone by her statement; it was simply a warning that homeschooling can be stressful, and that if you need to put your own health first, maybe you should wait before embarking on the homeschooling journey.

Yes, precisely. You need a reasonably solid mental footing to handle the stress of having others dependant on you. I might also point out that "a history of serious mental illness" is not the same thing as "mental illness", and that the phrase is open to a wide variety of interpretations. I personally wouldn't classify people as being seriously mentally ill unless they were a danger to themselves and/or others.

The whole home education movement began back in the sixties, with the hippies rebelling against all things government run, but since then, it has grown into a legitimate method of schooling. In fact, home schooling has become so big that colleges and universities now accept applications from children who have never been to school without question. But like any major decision involving your child, you have to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if home education is the right choice for you and your family.

Over the years, home education has received a bad rap due to parents who keep their kids at home, but dont actually teach them anything. These children often emerge from the cocoon of their home life as adults with severe disadvantages. They are not able to interact well socially and their knowledge of basic academic subjects is very low. When people see this, they assume that home education is not a good thing.

Also, many people are against home education because they believe that the school teachers are better equipped to teach children than parents. The facilities in the school are better in many areas, particularly the lab and the library. For obvious reasons, gym class is quite different in the school environment as well.

However, not all home education is badly done. There are parents who are very well equipped to teach their children and as long as they realize when they are out of their league, there is no problem, as a tutor can be hired. Also, there are several very good curriculums available specifically for home use that are easy to follow both for student and parent.

As long as care is taken, there is no need for social ineptness in the average home education student. There are a multitude of activities and classes that children can take to provide them with a social experience. In fact, many areas have home education groups where families who home school get together for various activities. The parents can discuss children and teaching difficulties while the students play games and sports and just generally interact with other young people their own age.

While it is true that classes such as phys. Ed. and science can be more difficult at home, there are ways around this. One way is to invest in lab equipment as a group, with several families pitching in to buy the required equipment. Also, many schools allow students from home educated families to participate in just one class without problems. This depends on the school and the area it is in, so its best to ask first.

Home education can be a very rewarding venture for the right people, but you do need to realize that it is not a vacation. Studying at home means a lot of hard work and less motivation, since you have only your own family to spur you on. For those who are not very disciplined, home schooling is not a good option. Weigh the choices, talk to other people who are already teaching their kids at home and then make an educated decision.

It's funny that this is a hot topic here. I just 'new post'ed something about this a few days back. Back in February I was hospitalized for about 10 days for major depression topped off with postpartum psychosis. I was having some serious SERIOUS harmful thought toward my one year old. NOW THAT'S NOT THE PLACE YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ANY KIND OF STRESS!!!! My only child (so far) is my 1-1/2 year old daughter. I no longer have those thoughts but I am still shaky. I know I have about 3-1/2 years to fully recover and set up support systems. I am going to home school. And I am really on fire about the idea. I am really excited. I know if God is willing, I can do it.